White House Historical Association

John Bowie Mockabee

Ask a Historian Download as PDF
Cite this Page
"John Bowie Mockabee," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/338.
Position
Grounds Laborer
Years in President's House
circa 1855 – 1859
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidencies
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
Biography
John Bowie Mockabee was born in June 1813 in Maryland.1 By 1842, he was living in Washington, D.C.2 Mockabee likely worked at the White House as a gardener. He appears on the 1855, 1857, and 1859 registry of federal government employees, listed as a laborer for the public grounds in Washington, D.C., which included the White House Grounds, Lafayette Park, and the Capitol grounds. Mockabee was listed alongside several other laborers who are confirmed to have worked at the White House under head gardener John Watt.3 It is currently unclear if Mockabee worked at the White House prior to or after these years. The 1860 Census and 1862 D.C. city directory identifies him as a gardener, but they do not specify for whom he worked.4 According to the 1860 Census, Mockabee owned an enslaved sixteen-year-old girl, though her name was not recorded nor is it clear what jobs Mockabee tasked her with.5 Mockabee passed away on February 22, 1863, and was buried in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.6
  1. “John Bowie Mockabee” in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-current, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/42800225?tid=&pid=&queryId=0e0f16dd-9a82-45c6-a175-194f43a5e50b&_phsrc=ZfK196&_phstart=successSource.
  2. On May 17, 1842, the Madisonian newspaper mentioned that John Mockebee had a letter waiting for him at the post office in Washington, D.C. See “List of Letters,” The Madisonian (Washington, D.C.), May 17, 1842, pg. 3, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1079841162/?match=1&terms="john mockabee".
  3. Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1855 (Washington: A.O.P. Nicholson, 1855), 95; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1857 (Washington: A.O.P. Nicholson, 1857), 97; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth of September, 1859 (Washington: William A. Harris, 1859), Pg. 98.
  4. “John B Mockabee” in the 1860 United States Federal Census, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667/records/10547005?tid=&pid=&queryId=e3711438-63b5-4aa7-b9eb-0c5af64bddb6&_phsrc=ZfK212&_phstart=successSource; “John Mockebee” in the U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/records/1035002063?tid=&pid=&queryId=01ecad53-db4b-4b81-8726-d5c2a9dedc87&_phsrc=ZfK202&_phstart=successSource.
  5. “John B. Mockebee” in the 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7668/records/90026654?tid=&pid=&queryId=952ebe8f-950b-427e-b026-fcd93e86ecf5&_phsrc=ZfK198&_phstart=successSource.  
  6. “John Bowie Mockabee” in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-current, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60525/records/42800225?tid=&pid=&queryId=0e0f16dd-9a82-45c6-a175-194f43a5e50b&_phsrc=ZfK196&_phstart=successSource.
Birthplace
Maryland, USA
Congressional Cemetery
Related Worker
John Watt
Gardens, Grounds, and Flower Shop, 1853 – 1861